Breaking Down
by Ziva-Tali-David
Summary: Ziva is not long returned from Somalia, and she needs help, so she goes to Gibbs. Not a very good summary, sorry.  Warning: Will be references to self-harm and rape
1. I Need Help

**_Breaking Down is basically an alternate for Aliyah, Reunion, Good Cop Bad Cop, that story line. There is also minor elements of Safe Harbor .Gibbs has a fatherly relationship with Ziva and there will be minor Tiva. _**

**_Please send me reviews, it is my first fanfic, and I would like it to work _****_J_**

**Breaking Down**

It was ten on a stormy night and Ziva was standing on Gibbs' street staring at his house, trying to decide whether or not it was worth it. She'd always been told on an undercover mission, if her identity was discovered, you became a liability, if your enemy didn't kill you, our agency probably would. That's how she felt now, except it was her going to him to tell him her identity. She was breaking down and she knew it was affecting her work. She needed help, and Gibbs was the only person she trusted enough to go to. Nevertheless, she remained still in the pouring rain.

Gibbs was in his lounge room watching Ziva out the window, even through the darkness he could see the battle she was facing. He desperately wanted to run to her and pull her into his arms and tell her it would all be okay, but there were two reasons he couldn't do that. The first was he couldn't guarantee that everything would be okay. The second was that she needed to do this for herself. That didn't mean he couldn't give her incentive. With his mind made up he went to the door,

"Ziva. Get inside. It's pouring rain." He yells to her. She looks up at him, with the warm light from his house spilling out into the night. She makes up her mind and walks up to him slowly. He opens his arms but she looks him in the eyes and walks straight past and down to his basement. While she settles herself sitting under his boat, he tips some screws out of two jars and puts some bourbon in them, he hands one to her then sits down opposite her waiting. Two glasses of bourbon later she opens her mouth,

"Gibbs, I need help."

Earlier that week

It was Sunday morning and Ziva was the only person in the squad-room who was properly awake, then again, she wasn't sure if she'd actually slept. She glanced up from her computer and noticed McGee typing furiously and repeatedly glancing at the clock, DiNozzo was half asleep at his desk.

"What are you typing, McGee?" She asked curiously, his eyes flicked to her then back to the screen

"McBet-Loser, over here lost a bet." DiNozzo interjected proudly now thoroughly awake

"What was the bet?" Ziva asked, DiNozzo checked around him before answering

"That Gibbs," He checks again, "would catch McGee if he pretended to make a saucy phone call to his 'girlfriend'."

"So you were pulling fleece over Gibbs' eyes?" Ziva replies as she notices Gibbs approaching DiNozzo from behind. Even she winced at the slap DiNozzo received.

"The word is wool, Ziva. That DiNozzo was for taking advantage of McGee, and being dishonest."

"Yes boss." DiNozzo replied, "I think I'm gonna have to get Ducky to check me for a concussion."

"When we get back DiNozzo. Gear up. Got a body and a ship wreck."

"Why isn't coast guard handling it?" McGee asks as they step into the elevator

"Because it was a Navy ship that was hijacked by the," He glances at Ziva, "Israelis some months ago."

Ziva looked at the ground, she knew the ship. The Damoclese. It had been hijacked ten months ago by two Israelis, a man and a woman. She knew because she had been the woman who hijacked the ship. She wondered what loose end was going to have to be tied up, and by whom.


	2. The Beginning

_**Thank you for your reviews. I have kind of changed what actually occurred a bit. Some parts may not be what the characters would actually do.**_

_**Okay. So here's the second chapter. **_

_**Anyway enjoy. Please Review!**_

Crime Scene

"Petty Officer Daniel Cryer. 32, divorced, no kids. Converted to Judaism and changed his name to Daniel Shalev." McGee reads the information to Gibbs. Ziva whips around at the sound of the name and walks over to the body. She thought he'd made it off the boat alive, then she sees the gunshot. He was killed by whoever was last on the boat, and she had the sickening feeling she knew who it was.

"Know him Ziva?" Gibbs asks as he takes in her bewildered posture.

"Uh. No. I thought the name sounded familiar. Not him though." She lies

"Okay then." He walks away and yells orders to the rest of the team. Something flicks in the Israelis peripheral vision of the body, and donning gloves, she bends down to look at it. The piece of paper has a message on it, written in Hebrew, written by a hand she recognized that was not Daniel's. The writing was something she saw all too often, but this time, she knew to be scared.

_There are loose ends to be tied up. _

_Don't forget that Ziva, or it may kill you._

Glancing over her shoulders to make sure no-one was watching she shoved the piece of paper into her pocket. Sighing she straightened and turned away to interview the poor fisherman who stumbled upon the wreck.

Gibbs' Basement

He held her to his chest as she told him her story, but he couldn't help but stiffen when she told him about the note. He regretted it immediately as she pulled back and looked at him. She pulled even further back when she saw the fury in his eyes.

"You were threatened. And you didn't tell me." Ziva chose not to respond to his statements, "You took evidence from a crime scene." She nodded and hung her head, but he caught her face in his hands and tilted her chin up to look at him. "Don't you EVER do that again! Who is this son of a bitch? I want him dead."

"He would just as quickly kill you first." She states, and he can't help notice the slight echo of something akin to pride in her voice. He sits silently and waits for her to continue "I trained him."

Bull Pit

"Daniel Shalev. Marine for 12 years, according to his CO, well-liked, trustworthy, reliable etcetera. Nothing wrong with him. Perfect Marine, loyal to the bone." DiNozzo says standing in front of the plasma, "No one would want him dead, he wouldn't have been on the ship." Finishes DiNozzo

"Well he was, and I wanna know why!" He turns to McGee, "Mah Gee!"

"Yes Boss. The officer had two bank accounts. One under the name of Cryer, all payments check out…" Gibbs whistles

"Payments gotten bigger in twenty years." He comments wryly

"Uh, yeah. He also has an account under the name of Shalev. There are payments that come in at the same time as his Corps payments. But they are bigger and I am having trouble tracing the money."

"Get on it. David!" She takes the clicker but doesn't use it as she recites the information

"Shalev, uh, Cryer, joined a foreign agency while still working for the Corps about six years ago. His job is to get people places discreetly. He is very useful for getting people on boats." She lets that one hang for a moment then brings up a picture of a young Israeli woman she knows very well, "Rebecca Shalev, 28, Israeli national, currently here on a working visa. Lives in D.C."

"Can you get onto her?" Gibbs queries, thinking something seems odd about the photo

"I can try." Rebecca Shalev was, after all, Ziva on a deep cover mission

Gibbs Basement

"You know, Ziva, the whole hour you sat there I believed you were on the phone." Gibbs chuckles

"I didn't pretend the whole time. I made a few social calls and one crucial call." She admits. Gibbs nods and holds her,

"I know. I saw it in your body language and I saw it when you locked yourself in the elevator for twenty minutes." Ziva looks up at him and winces as she remembers the tracks she made on herself while she was in there. She shudders and suppresses the memory.

"My father warned me. He told me loose and had to be tied. He told me liabilities are fatal in our industry."

Ziva's apartment- 10am that morning

Ziva was bent over throwing up when she heard a noise that didn't fit. It sounded like glass breaking. Quickly and silently she straightened ad moved herself so she could see who was in her apartment but so whoever it was could not see her in the mirror, her hand rested on her gun. She listened intently and was disconcerted to discover the intruder made no noise. After ten minutes, a reflection appeared in the mirror and she knew why she heard nothing. She recognized her partner from the Somalia mission, and he appeared to be fully healed. In her joyful rush to meet him she almost too late saw the poised gun waiting for her. She sidestepped as quickly as she could…


	3. Shipwreck

**Breaking Down- Part 3**

_**Kinda took awhile to update, sorry. Got distracted reading other people's work, if I have stolen any ideas let me know. In the cases I have seen an idea I liked and have copied I have tried to put a different spin on it. As I said, any problems let me know. **_

_**Also any suggestions, please let me know. I would like to get to five or ten reviews by chapter five. please. If you review I will tell Gibbs not to slap you :P**_

_**This chapter basically starts to get into her being in Somalia.**_

_**Italics means they are speaking in Hebrew, a variation in font means they are speaking in Arabic.**_

_**Disclaimer: Including all previous and forthcoming Chapters, characters are not mine. Some plot ideas not mine…unfortunately**_

_**Anyway Enjoy.**_

Bull Pit-10am that morning

Gibbs couldn't help staring at the empty desk of his youngest agent, she was never late, especially not without notice of some description. He was no fool, he knew it had something to do with the case and Somalia, but she hadn't told him anything and had appeared to be on the mend so he couldn't help her. But his gut and certain aspects of her behaviour wouldn't shut up telling him she was in danger. Muttering a string of very colourful words he wrote down her number and stood, handing it to McGee,

"McGee. Trace this number. Tony. I want everything on Cryer/Shalev and the Damoclese." Gibbs grabs his gun and starts walking

"Uh, Boss. This is…"McGee starts

"I know. Stay here." Gibbs says sliding into the elevator.

Gibbs Basement

"I was wild while I was trying to find you. I'm also pretty sure I managed to offend every Israeli at the embassy. I knew you had become a liability, I was scared, Ziver, I was scared another of my daughters would be killed." He can feel the tears streaming down his cheeks but does nothing to wipe them away. He watches her standing rigidly away from him, scared and confused.

"I wished the bullet had gone through my heart." She said bluntly, and she watches as Gibbs realizes a bullet had actually connected with her. She shrinks further back as he looms up, fury mottling the colour of his eyes.

"You were shot and you went the whole day without telling anyone or doing anything, and who is this bastard who shot you. I want him dead, Ziva, you can't protect him. Where was your judgement? And why the hell didn't you think you could come to us for help?" She stands and listens to his tirade, but as soon as he is finished, she bolts up the stairs.

He knows straight away he made a mistake, she was vulnerable and he had lost it. Now he had no idea where she was. But what struck him hardest, was that she had run away. His Ziva never ran away, she had always been too strong.

Ziva's apartment

Gibbs stands at the door to Ziva's apartment listening for any sound. It was the second time in twelve hours, and now he knew the hard way just because there was no noise, didn't mean she wasn't in there.

Earlier that day he'd arrived at her apartment to find her semi-conscious on the floor, partially covered in blood. When she'd recovered she'd told him it wasn't her own but the blood of a burglar who'd picked the wrong apartment, but when he heard her washing her clothes against direct orders, he knew something was very, very,wrong.

Now, as he knocked on her door, he knew his fears had been well grounded. The door opened and she was already walking back across the room. In the dull light he realized how, two months on she was still just skin and bones, but she wore long baggy clothing so it was less obvious.

He shut the door behind him and leant against the door frame watching her move around to make coffee. She was favouring her left side, but was generally moving slower, taking care not to hurt anything. He shuddered as he thought of her racing Tony up the stairs a fortnight. He also couldn't ignore her arm resting across her stomach protectively.

"I scared you." He states as he sits on the couch and she nods, still standing on the opposite side of the room,

"Yes, but not because you were yelling. I was scared because I knew that talking to you meant you would become a liability as well. I didn't want you hurt. I was making a mistake."

"Ziva…"

"He's still alive. He also has a petty vendetta against me and any men I am close to."

9 months ago-The Damoclese

"_Shalev had better pull through." _Ziva growled to her partner Malachi, who didn't know about her 'association' with Shalev _"It's risky enough hijacking an American ship, let alone the Arab captain."_

"_If you are worried about the Arab captain, we should stop speaking in Hebrew."_ He snaps in response, and she rolls her eyes turning at the sound of approaching footsteps

"Captain wants to meet you." Shalev states as he approaches. Ziva grins and accepts the twenty from Malachi. Malachi had been stupid enough to bet the captain wouldn't want to know why they wanted to catch a ride. Ziva however had been right in guessing the captain would want to examine her, she was probably the first woman he had seen in some time.

"Rebecca?" The captain says as they approach. Ziva curses herself and Shalev under her breath. Shalev had used the same captain as when they had been on a mission together. She didn't answer and the captain left them to get on the ship and get comfortable.

She wanders around the ship finding key weak spots and the like. Eventually she finds herself in the mess hall. In her singlet, cargo pants and femininity she has every eye in the room on her. Grabbing a plate she sits near the back of the room with two crew members and glowers. The crew is lightly conversing, placing bets on who has the highest chance of getting her into bed. She rolls her eyes and watches Shalev slink out of the room. What the hell is he doing? He had orders to be friendly, not get himself killed by snooping. Excusing herself from the conversation she stands and follows him, with a hand resting on her gun.

She rounds another corner to find Shalev held off the ground by a very large Palestinian crew member.

"Put him down." She says resisting the urge to put a bullet through both of them. As the Palestinian turns to look at her she realizes two things that turn her blood to ice. The Palestinian had found Shalev's marine dog tags and her Star of David was clearly visible. She curses and without a second thought puts a bullet through the crew member's temple. They had about thirty seconds before everyone else came running. She turned and grabbed her pack and gun from Malachi who had followed her down, taking a detour past their room.

Ziva's apartment

"It was one hell of a fire-fight. Shalev and I were fine but Malachi got himself shot twice in cross-fire. It rendered him useless." She pauses for a moment "Your Marine was a crack shot. He downed six men, to Malachi's four. I took the rest." Gibb's considers for a moment

"There would have been at least fifteen or twenty men on that ship?" He asked

"Twenty-four. They were so stupid though, they probably only amounted to about six. Anyway, I ran to the bridge and gained control of the ship and set her on a course to suit us better. At the time I didn't know but while Shalev and Malachi were dealing with the bodies they were talking about how each of them knew me. Malachi found out about our time together."

"Was that seriously what his vendetta was about? You and Shalev having a history?" He asks

"To keep him loyal we had something of a relationship. But he always was too emotional. That was something I learnt while training him. That was why things went so wrong." Ziva shakes her head and looks down. Gibbs decide to ignore the emotional comment but he can't ignore the haunted look in her eyes.

_**Hope you liked that chapter. Just a warning I may not have time to upload another chapter until next month as I am currently going through rigorous exam preparation and probably shouldn't have even been working on this chapter. Will update as soon as possible though **_


	4. It Is What It Is

**Breaking Down Part 4.**

_**Okay, finally. Exams and school finished for the year and updates should be more frequent.**_

_**WARNING: This chapter might be uncomfortable/not pleasant for some people, as it tells what happened to her in Saleem's camp.**_

_**Anyway, hope it was worth the wait. Please review.**_

_**Disclaimer: Not mine.**_

Somewhere near the horn of Africa -8.5 months ago

"_What are we going to do? The missions screwed." _Malachi asked, the three of them were still on the ship

"_And you're injured. You'd be even more useless in a fight than normal." _Shalev points out and Malachi growls

"_Cool it. Both of you." _Ziva interjects _"We have three objectives. One, complete the mission. Two, get rid of the ship and the bodies, explosives might work. And finally, you two have to disappear for a while." _She waited while they figured out the full implications of her words. Malachi nodded, while Shalev looked horrified. She picked up her stuff and moved towards one of the lifeboats

"_You cannot fail, Ziva, or you will pay with your life." _Malachi remarked

"_I already have." _She stepped into the lifeboat, Malachi turned away and didn't look at her again

"_But Ziva, you can't! It's suicide!" _Shalev yelled and she whipped around

"_It is what it is!" _She cut the rope, "Goodbye Gibbs."

Ziva's apartment.

Gibbs stares for a moment, watching her eyes as she replays the memory.

"I lost all faith. In my father. In you. In myself. I knew in that moment, that I was ready to die, I had no intention of coming out of Somalia alive." Her voice shakes with each syllable and it breaks his heart to hear her say it so openly, be so blunt. He stands to go to her, and wrap her vulnerable form in his protective embrace. But she only retreats further

"Ziver…" His voice is laced with all the heartache of a father who has lost his daughter, but she shakes her head

"I ran blindly to Saleem's camp and I fought my way through to his inner sanctum, where he was waiting for me. The trap had been sprung, he… overpowered…me."

Saleem's Camp- 8 months ago

Hands grabbed her, slapped her, hit her, pushed her and finally threw her into the dust. She knelt and defiantly met his eyes. Saleem Ulman grinned the vicious gin she would come to know so well, and grabbed her chin, turned her head and examined her.

"Who are you? Too pretty to be here." She snapped her head around and bit his fingers, holding on until she draws blood. He retaliated and hit her, hard, her light form left the ground and landed on the other side of the room. "Bitch. Check her for weapons, bind her, gag her and put her in my favourite cell." Saleem yelled and stalked out. His men frisk her then drag her by her hair to a windowless cell and tie her to a chair. Once they shut the door she is left alone in complete darkness, with only her own haunting thoughts to comfort her.

The door opened and light came from somewhere beyond. She watched Saleem approach, a syringe in one hand, a water bottle in the other. He tore her gag off, stating facts about the truth serum in the needle, and injected her. Immediately she felt the serum begin to scramble her mind and she fought to hold on, succeeding, but only just.

"We'll start with a simple question. What's your name?"

"Ziva."

"Last name?" He prompted her, and she fought harder to not tell him

"I have one." She forces through clenched teeth. He growls and marks her with his knife before injecting more serum, she loses her control

"Last name?" He asks again

"David."

"Who do you work for Ziva David?"

"Jethro and Eli David." She is pleased she did not give Gibbs away, but scared as she watches Saleem realize she is Mossad, and a relation of the Director. In the next hour he tries everything to break her, without killing her, making her suffer. He uses every weapon on her, including himself.

Ziva's apartment

Ziva stands still and watches Gibbs' imagination play over his face. She waits against her wall while his fists clench and fury dances across his face and through his eyes, darkening their colour. After he exhales she walks over to him and leans into his chest, she feels his arms enclose her, his lips kiss her hair and his tears on her. He feels her shake, her tears dampen his shirt and he feels her wince as he gently rubs the still-painful scars covering her back and neck. He feels new tears spring to his eyes, realizing he hurt her, no matter how accidental. He wants so much for her to stop, for it to go away. But he knows she needs to finish her story and he knows she needs him to hold her and fight away her fears, "You didn't come out alive Ziva. A part of you died out there."

Saleem's camp- Time unknown.

Time passed and nothing changed. She was still trapped in her lonely crypt. No food, no water, no room to move. She had already determined it was about the size of the elevator.

The elevator

Gibbs.

Home

It was all gone now. There was nothing left for her. She had been betrayed and in return she betrayed the only people who really cared. Ziva David was finally broken.

She hit the ground hard, the burns on her bare torso stinging as they made contact with the rough sand. She heard him laugh as he carved a Star of David into her back. Wryly, she thought it represented something. The star on the back symbolizing the life she was trying so hard to leave behind and NCIS burnt on her stomach, the life she had so desperately fought for.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

She couldn't feel anything. She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't see anything.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Somehow she knew they were yelling and screaming. Somehow she knew they were torturing and beating. Somehow she knew they were breaking her down.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing

No cares. No thoughts No hopes

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

No past. No present. No future.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

No family. No team. No Tony or Gibbs.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

That was all she was.

She was tied to a chair again, this time in a literal cage outside, the burning sun beating down on her, aggravating her injuries. The sound of a large convoy broke through her reverie, and she turned her head slightly. The cars approached the compound. Probably Saleem's Caf POW delivery.

"Americans. Apparently we caught some." One of the more human of her captors tells her, sensing her interest. She suspected the reason for his kinder treatment of her was his half-Israeli ancestry. But her thoughts were focused on the possibility of Americans.

No. They wouldn't. She had betrayed them.

Another tear fell down her cheek.


	5. As It Comes

**Breaking Down Part 5**

_**Okay, I know this is short but it couldn't really be any longer.**_

_**This chapter finishes what happened to her in Somalia and begins the tying up of another loose end.**_

_**Please Review. I have decided I am not going to upload any more chapters until I get 15 reviews. But thank you to all of you have reviewed stareagle, NCIS Fan28, ladybugsmomma, KellyGibbsNCIS, Leonie 1988, ForeignMusicLyrics and Kelly Gibbs McGee**_

_**NCIS Fan28-The end of this chapter is dedicated to you :P**_

_**Disclaimer: Not mine (unfortunately)**_

Saleem's Camp- 2.5 months ago

Her eyes flew open as she felt herself lifted from the ground then come thudding back against the far wall. She curled into a protective ball around her stomach, where his boot had connected. He stalked over to her, rolled her on her back and straddled her, pinning her arms with his knees, breaking bones.

"Who are these Americans?" He screamed, but all she can do is lie still, her eyes glazed, "DiNozzo says he worked with you." He felt her tense beneath him, and slapped her "Who is he?" He drags her up against the wall and pushes a knife to her throat.

"He was my partner." Saleem recoiled in shock and dropped her. She watched the malice return to his eyes with a new vigour as he approached her. She faded out as he began to rape her.

DiNozzo watched as Saleem came into his prison pushing a slim figure covered in a sack in front of him, then onto another chair opposite to him. Saleem removed the sack and DiNozzo almost fell of his chair to see Ziva before him. Alive but only just. It almost killed him to see her beautiful coffee eyes, so dead, so hopeless, so lost, so betrayed.

Ziva's apartment

"You know what happened from there." Her words are muffled against his shirt. He shifts her slightly and lightly rests his hand on her stomach, she looks up at him, eyes wide with fright. He sighs and holds her to him again. They would take it as it came.

He's not sure how long they've been standing there when he hears her front door open. She hears it too, but she doesn't care enough to react, she does react when she hears Gibbs snarl,

"Get out!"

"But it was such a pretty picture." Malachi sneers in response, his gun poised to shoot.

_**Somalia is now basically finished. From here I am hoping to tie up the loose end of Malachi.**_

_**While I am waiting for my 15 reviews, I will be working on the Rebecca Shalev story and a number of others.**_


	6. Whimper

_**Hey, Sorry it's been awhile. The story is finished though! I will continue to update as often as possible. Malachi issue will be addressed in a different fic. But everything else has current low priority, sorry to all of you who got excited. Also sorry to NCISfan 28 for the delayed cliff-hanger.**_

Gibbs throws her to the ground below him and shields her with his own body. Thinking while moving he pushes her to the left, towards the couch, and rolls to the right. Ziva keeps rolling and hides behind the couch. She looks him square in the eyes and he knows he can rely on her to save his life.

As he stand Gibbs does a mental tally, making sure he continues to move. Malachi has fired 2 of 6 shots from this gun but he has another and four knives. Gibbs has one unfired gun and Ziva has at least 5 knives on her person and numerous weapon stores, including one under the couch. Then a thought hits him, Malachi might know where they are. He sends one of very few silent prayers to God.

He realizes he has stopped moving as a bullet flies past his head and he has to throw himself to the carpet. He stands immediately and his nose ends up on the end of Malachi's fist. Malachi kicks him in his famous gut then brings the gun across his head.

Ziva curses as Gibbs goes down and Malachi turns toward her. Slowly he raises his gun, but she draws hers and fires at his spare gun, splintering it. He fires another shot and she feels a renewed pain in her already shattered shoulder. She loses her balance and her eyes go wide as Malachi unsheathes his knife, a deadly smirk spreading across his face. If DiNozzo thought she was deadly with a gun, Malachi's a massacre. He crosses the floor quickly and pushes her against the wall and kisses her, hard. Instinctively, she places her knee in his groin, with force suitable force. He recoils, before coming back with a vengeance and wrapping her neck in his hands. Before she can stop herself a whimper escapes her throat.

Her whimper tears him from his reverie, and he sees her almost dead against the wall. Slowly he drags himself up and slams his fist into Malachi's temple. Still weak Gibbs goes down again at Malachi's boot in his knee. Malachi turns to face Ziva, who is kneeling with her gun pointed at him,

"Why? What went so wrong, Malachi?

"Because I loved you, and you didn't care."

"But you don't have to kill us, just like I don't have to kill you. I don't want to kill you but if I see you again, I will put a bullet through you."

"You couldn't kill me. You will see me again Zivaleh, and when I erturn I'm going to fu…" He screams and stumbles out of her apartment, with her bullet through his knees. She sighs and collapses against the door.

"Dinozzo." He says answering his phone several minutes later

"Tony? It's Ziva. Please, bring Ducky and come to my apartment. Don't tell any of the others."

"Ziva, what's up?" He says sitting up straight. McGee looks at him

"Please come." She is breathing hard, about to pass out

"Of course." He hangs up and she blacks out.

Tony puts his phone in his pocket and stands, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Got a case?" McGee says standing

"Nope."

"Ziva tell you where she is." Tony knew McGee was worried, and felt horrible that he had to lie to him, but he was more scared of Ziva than McGee. McGee had admitted that he'd been told to trace Ziva's number and almost the entire log had been calls to Israeli numbers. Tony himself had discovered their Marine had been on the Damoclese at the same time as Ziva.

"Uh. No, she just wanted me to run something by Ducky." He walks down to autopsy, and gives the gremlin a hard look until he disappears.

"Ahh, Anthony. What can I do for you?" Ducky considers the younger man's face, "You haven't found them yet?"

"That's not it exactly. She rung me?"

"Ziva called you? That doesn't sound right."

"She asked for help and discretion. That help involved me giving you a lift to her apartment." Ducky raises his eyebrows, grabs his bag and coat and follows Tony.

Tony grunts when he sees the inside of her apartment. Gibbs is sprawled against the far wall, his leg bent at an awkward angle and blood streaming from a broken nose, but otherwise he appears okay. Ziva is curled in a ball on the floor, blood pouring from her shoulder and bruises all over her neck, she is barely breathing and definitely not okay.

"Oh dear God. Tony can you stop the blood from Gibb's nose and wake him up." Tony moves to find a towel before going to Gibbs.

"Boss?" Tony tries to wake him up unsuccessfully, before debating whether or not to do what he knows will work. He decides to risk it and moves to slap him up the back of the head, but Gibbs wakes and catches his hand.

"Were you going to?"

"Yes boss."

"How long have you been wanting to do that DiNozzo?" Gibbs responds smirking

"A while sir." He replies before catching himself "I better check Ziva."

"Ziva!" Gibbs exclaims getting up and dragging himself across the room "How is she Duck?"

Ducky turns to look at him, and Gibbs almost recoils at the look in his eyes.

_**Updating as soon as possible… I promise it won't be 2 months this time again I apologize for cliff-hanger. Please review and give me suggestions. I will warn you, I'm not very happy about the story from here on.**_


	7. Apologies

_**Told you I'd be quick Next two chapters are kind of short, not much happens. **_

_**Bolded writing means it is the characters thoughts or dreams. Bolded Italic means character is thinking in Hebrew.**_

_**Thanks for all the positive reviews**_

Bethesda Naval Hospital

**All he can do is stareat her as she lies motionless in her bed, her skin almost blending in with the sheets. His other beautiful girl, almost torn from his grasp, no he wouldn't have been able to take that. When she'd whimpered and brought him back, his heart broke. His girl was too strong and that sonovabitch broke her. And he'd let him get away.**

"How is she?" Ducky says walking back into the room with a coffee.

"The same."

"You nail this bastard Jethro."

"Ya think!" He says standing up

"Why were you at her apartment?"

"Because I'm the sonovabitch who broke her." Gibbs replies referencing his own thoughts

"She was already broken. You had to have seen the scars she covered herself in. You tried to put her back together. She will thank you."

"I scared her Duck." He turns away and puts his head in his hands "She came to me for help and I scared her."

"You woke her up. Sometimes we need a fright to wake up from a bad dream." Gibbs remains silent as Ducky leaves, then he kisses Ziva on her forehead,

"I'm sorry, Ziver, I'm so, so sorry."


	8. Rock

_**Breaking Down Part 9**_

Bethesda Naval Hospital

_**She is trapped in a glass box watching everything go by. Words and actions flota round her in a meaningless haze, except for one thing. His apology stands out like fire on a hillside. Suddenly she hears her father laugh and his bullet shatters her glass bubble. Everything around her turns to a weapon and flies toward her**_ suddenly she is suffocating…

Gibbs watches as her eyes fly open and she begins to convulse violently. The machines around her begin to beep maniacally and doctors rush into the room, pushing him away from her bed.

She can't breathe and all these people hold her down, she is drowning in a see of faces she does not know. Freedom is all she wants, but the pain, oh, the pain **Let me out. **Then his hand clasps hers and his face registers in her vision, connected to him, her solid rock in a terrifying storm.

He'd seen she needed help and now he held her hands and she calms. Slowly the doctors begin to recede, like the tide going out and only a few are left to examine her.

"I'm sorry Gibbs."


	9. What's Right

_**Okay, so this one is kinda long, probably the longest so far.**_

_**By the way just a note: Ziva is still pregnant, but I am hoping to eventually do a sequel to address this. Also I have hit a mental block with Rebecca Shalev. My head is too full of other ideas Sorry about the cliff-hangers on every chapter, not intentional…all the time.**_

_**Enjoy. And please Review**_

Bull Pit

"McGee. Cell phone, bank records. Trace him with everything electronic. DiNozzo, family friends, locations. If this guy pissed on a blade of grass I want to know which one. David…"

"My office. Now!" The director orders appearing behind them, and ignoring Gibb's glare. She follows silently, paying more attention to the various murders running through her head. She vaguely wonders about the ways she calms herself.

"What?" She says shutting the door and leaning against the frame

"You need to be reassessed for your suitability as an agent."

"What?"

"You're status as an agent has been suspended until further notice. Your father is waiting in MTAC to discuss your status. I need your badge and gun." He holds out his hand but she just stares at him, then she notices the file on his desk. Curiosity overtakes her, but she gets it under control and walks calmly to Vance. At the last moment she feints to the side, grabs the file and runs.

"Stop Her!" Vance yells before slowly walking to the catwalk, a pleased expression on his face.

She runs straight through the bullpit, knocking Gibbs over in the process, grabs her pack and leaves the building.

"What the hell was that about?" Tony asks, unsure whether or not to help his boss up. Gibbs curses and looks up at the catwalk. He meets Vance's eye before walking to the elevator. Stuck on the back wall of the elevator is a postit.

_Rule 18: It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission_

He sighs, he'd already felt her put her gun and badge in his pocket when she'd ran into him.

Gibbs walks back into the squadroom

"Uh boss. You may want to see this. We pulled the footage from Vance's office." McGee says. Gibbs watches in silence before walking up to MTAC.

"Shalom Gibbs."

"Director David. You should've told me America was a dumping ground for rogue Mossad agents."

"What are you talking about Gibbs?"

"Ari, Shalev, Malachi, Ziva." He retorts, his voice rising to a yell

"She was rogue before she volunteered to come to you. I did not send her." Eli responds

"Right." Gibbs obviously doubts it, "Malachi?"

"He was her mistake. She will shut him down."

"No she won't." DiNozzo interjects "She's changed. She's human, no thanks to you. You've never been the father she wants, wait, you've never been the human she wants. How about for once you stop the bullshit and save her life!"

"Agent DiNozzo. I'm sure we all know your motives with my daughters safety." Eli replies, unmoved "And why would I contradict my own orders?"

Gibbs stands infront of DiNozzo and indicates for the conversation to be shut down

"Bastard ordered her dead." He snarls

Gibb's Basement

She puts the file down in shock. She had underestimated both Vance and her father, though for different reasons. Eli had ordered her dead, predictable, she thought now. But Vance was a genius. All this time he'd been using her, and when he'd found out that Eli had ordered Malachi to kill her, he thrown her out so she had no restrictions to do what she had to. She is free to fight her own battles. He'd broken down the law for his agents

Sighing she tightens her gun holster and leaves her phone and GPS in Gibbs' basement. As she steps out of his front door she almost reconsiders, she knows Malachi is near her.

NCIS

"Hey Abs." Gibbs says

"Gibbs! You've neglected me!"

"Been kinda busy."

"Did you find her?"

"No I was hoping you had." While Ziva had been comatose he'd delivered some information to both Abby and Ducky

"Well. There's good news and bad news." She says spinning back to her monitors

"Bad news first."

"I ran those photos and fibres and numbers and names and…"

"Abs."

"Right. I ran it all and my babies did their job…"

"Thought I asked for the bad news."

"This is the bad news Gibbs!" He _was _ordered to kill Ziva, and he has the means to do it. Another thing. Ziva left her GPS and phone and car at your place. She's unreachable."

"What about the bug you put on her necklace?"

"Tracking purposes only."

"Keep me posted." He kisses her forehead and hands her a CafPOW

"I haven't finished yet Gibbs!" She frowns at him

"I know." He smirks, with one hand still behind his back, she smiles

"Good news is, I know exactly where they both are, and where they've been. I also have enough evidence to pin Eli to all of this."

"Only evidence to pin Eli is a bullet through his heart. Thanks Abs." He leaves her the other CafPOW and heads over to Autopsy.

"Hey Duck."

"Ahh, Jethro."

"Whaddya got?"

"Well everyone of them was mentally broken. But Ziva and Malachi are slightly different. Malachi is very impulsive and still retains a lot of emotions which he will act on. He is jealous of the men in Ziva's life, then he realized she was the one choosing the men, so she became the target. He will want to take her to somewhere related to a man close to her and inflict immense amounts of psychological pain on her."

"Like my basement?"

"No. Somewhere that doesn't hold any bad memories. He wants to create them himself, before he kills her."

"And Ari, Michael and Ziva?"

"He broke them all. Ziva, is worst of all. It is as if she is slowly losing the ability to have emotions, due to her supressing them for so long. We can only hope her strength wins through. At the moment she will be very vulnerable and confused, looking for a way out, she will be resigned to her fate, because she believes it is the right thing to do."

"She'll do what's right no matter the cost." Gibbs summarizes, thinking of the postit in his pocket

"Yes. Has she said something to you?" Ducky says picking up Gibbs' tone "I am aware she has talked to you about Somalia."

"Yep. She signed her own death warrant and stuck it in the elevator." He pauses "Did you know she was pregnant?" Ducky looks away guiltily and Gibbs storms out "Would've been nice to know Duck."

"Save her Jethro." He waits until Gibbs is out of earshot, "because we would not be able to save you."

Tony looks up as Gibbs storms into the bullpit and has his gear before Gibbs barks the order.

"Split up. Look for Ziva in any of her favourite places. Radio for backup _before _going in. Got that?" He stares pointedly at Tony, who nods and they leave.

He'd already checked the theatre, the book store, the bar and the little café they went to before movies on Friday. He was running out of ideas. It's times like these when he needs Gibbs gut. Then it hits him, doing an impression of Ziva's driving he turns around and speeds back to his place.

He looks at his slightly ajar front door and curses, as he turns to get his phone, he hears two noises that make his blood run cold. He hears a shot, and then her scream.


	10. Chain Reaction

_**Trying to maintain quick updates until I have finished this story, then I will work on a few other ideas.**_

_**Thank you to all my faithful reviewers and welcome to all my new readers. Hope you enjoy my writings. And please keep the reviews coming.**_

_**Note: Called it Tony's place because I don't know if he lives in a house or apartment**_

_**Disclaimer: *freaks out because haven't put disclaimer on last few chapters* Arghhh *Gibbs slaps me* Uh sorry. Only mine in my fantasmical musings.**_

_**ha-chever sheli- my friend when talking to a male**_

_**Enjoy**_

Tony's Place

She'd wandered around for hours, following Malachi wherever he led. That was how she'd ended up here at Tony's place, fighting for her life. She knew Ducky had done an evaluation of Ari, Michael, Malachi and herself, but she didn't need a piece of paper to know the torture he would put her through or to know she would detonate the small bomb she possessed.

They'd been fighting for hours and the shoulder where she'd been shot twice in the past fortnight was giving way. She falls against the wall in exhaustion and watches as Malachi smirks and begins systematically shooting things. She winces as each shot is fired, and loudly draws breath as he finds a photo of the entire team from last Christmas. He pins the photo next to her head and fires two shots. One at the image of Gibbs. One at the image of Tony. She cannot help it, she screams and bolts to the door, where Tony is waiting with open arms and no backup.

Gibbs

"McGee, get to DiNozzo's now!" Gibbs yells, his car screaming to a halt on DiNozzo's front lawn. He'd seen DiNozzo head home and it had made perfect sense. He'd also seen DiNozzo disobey a direct order and run unprotected into hell. Just like he was about to do now. He grabs his gun and runs to the door, he can here silence, and it terrifies him. He walks in the open door aiming his gun, his expression blatant fury.

McGee

McGee, twenty minutes away realizes something. His boss and his partner would be lacking several things, rational thinking and medical assistance. Gibbs and Tony would've charged headlong into the battle and probably sustained serious injury, let alone what state Ziva would be in. That could mean one of two things. They may be unconscious and unable to call Ducky or they could be too weak to call him. So the first thing McGee does is call Ducky. By then he can't resist and he speeds to Tony's, to help save his family's lives.

Ducky

Ducky puts down the phone and orders Palmer to prepare the truck before heading to Abby's lab,

"Ducky?" She says giving him a hug

"Hello dear. They've found them. I am about to go over there, but I need you here to male sure we get this bastard and to talk to the Director."

"Ducky, don't let them die." She clicks their photos onto her monitors when he doesn't respond. Ducky turns and leaves. He slides silently into the truck, and Palmer drives them to Palmers house

"Oh my god." He exclaims when he walks into Anthony's loungeroom

Abby

Abby stares at the photos and evidence for a moment before running to the direcors office. She hopes she can fix Ziva's problems, by eliminating Eli, at least temporarily.

"Come in." Calls the director when she knocks, "Miss Sciuto?"

"WE found them. They're at Tony's place but they didn't call for backup and ducky is on his way over, but he thinks they might be dead. And Eli ordered them all dead and I can prove it and you…"

"Slow down Miss Sciuto. Eli ordered an American federal agent dead, and you can prove it?"

"Yes, but…"

"Keep me in the loop." A dismissed Abby wanders back to her lab and stares at photos.

Vance

As soon as Ms Sciuto leaves he clears his afternoon and strides over to MTAC.

"Get Eli David on the phone." He yells to no one in particular, nevertheless it's done

"Ah shalom ha-chever sheli." An annoyed Eli responds

"Hello Eli." Vance says tersely "In the interests of diplomatic relations, what is officer Malachi Ben-Gidon doing in America?"

"He had no assignment and chose to visit an old friend."

"The 'old-friend' being Agent David?" Vance is working hard to keep his tone civil. Perhaps Malachi had no assignment when he left Israel, but he sure as hell had one now.

"Yes. My daughter has shared many assignments with him."

"Somalia?"

"One of many." Eli waves his hand in a dismissive manner

"As long as you and the agents who follow your orders remember what the consequences of harming, taking a hit out on, and completing the hit on a federal agent are."

"Why would an American federal agent having any of those things happen to them have something to do with me?"

"And if Malachi pushes either his agenda or yours with her, then god help you Eli." Vance finishes and signals for it to be cut off before heading to his office.

Tel-Aviv

Eli curses violently, he wondered how they'd figured out he was double crossing them and had ordered Ziva dead. Malachi was stronger than Ziva, so there was no doubt she was dead, but Gibbs and DiNozzo might shut him down. This was going to be messy, and Vance's thinly veiled threat just grounded his fears. What was worse was that he had no other agents in the area. He had no control and he was blind. It's up to the Americans.


	11. The Night

_**Second Last chapter. These next two are EXTREMELY short, but they need to be to get the point across. I apologize if it annoys anyone.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

Ziva clings to DiNozzo, barely alive while he gently strokes her hair.

Gibbs leans against the door frame, wearily taking in the carnage.

Malachi lies dead on the floor, blood pooling under multiple bullet wounds.

Ducky enters, surveys the scene and slowly gets to work.

McGee stands next to Gibbs and makes the phone-call Abby.

Abby runs to Vance's office with evidence to pin Eli.

Vane rings the president and listens as Eli David is arrested, he will avenge his agents.

They are terrified one of them might not make it through the night.


	12. Locked Together

_**Final Chapter! Please enjoy and review. Hehe, now that this is finished I will allow myself to think about other stories.**_

_**Again I apologize for the lack of length. And the clichéd final line**_

_**Disclaimer: Idea for ending is mine, Characters are not.**_

Bethesda

Gibbs sits by her bed staring at her still form. It'd been six days since Malachi had been killed, four since Eli David had been locked up and two since any of the team had seen each other.

Abby was locked in her lab staring at photo's.

Vance was locked in his office on the phone.

Tony was locked in his home with alcohol.

McGee was locked in his apartment hiding.

Ducky was locked in autopsy with Malachi.

Ziva was locked in her own nightmares

He was locked in his own fear for her.

He keeps staring at his girl, words racing around his head about Ziva, Kelly, Shannon, all of his nightmares. Finally he cannot stop himself and as a tear slides down his cheek he tells her everything his voice rising to a yell.

"You cannot leave me.

"It'll be okay." He looks up in surprise as he feels her wake up.

"I broke down." Tears are also streaming down her cheek

"I'll put you back together."


End file.
